FORTUNE BAY ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR GOLD PROJECTS
Summary and Highlights:
- An Updated Preliminary Economic Assessment ("Updated PEA") has been commissioned and is expected to be completed in Q3 2025. The Updated PEA will be led by Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC ("Ausenco") and will rescope the Project based on current gold pricing and incorporate key recommendations from a recently completed study by
Fuse Advisors Inc. ("Fuse") that assessed theGoldfields Project's optimal path to production from both an economic and permitting standpoint. This Updated PEA is expected to set the stage for further de-risking through Pre-Feasibility ("PFS") or Feasibility Study ("FS"). - The Company has initiated planning for permitting activities and intends to commence (1) project development community consultation, in accordance with the Company's social and environmental commitments1, and (2) environmental baseline studies in Q3 2025.
Ixhuatán Project (to be renamedPoma Rosa Project ): - Fortune Bay has been advancing consultation with key project area communities with the goal of establishing exploration agreements in accordance with the Company's social and environmental commitments1. To date, meetings with the communities and other stakeholders have been positive and supportive, and further meetings are planned over the coming weeks with the aim of restarting exploration in late 2025. In consultation with communities, and to signify potential reactivation, the project is to be renamed the "
Poma Rosa Project " after a popular fruit that is cultivated throughout the project area. - The Company has engaged with
Understood Mineral Resources Ltd. ("Understood") to assist with a desk-top data review of the historical mineral resources and growth potential. The review also aims to help define methods and the overall approach for an updated National Instrument (NI) 43-101 mineral resource estimate.
"We are pleased to have the support of both existing long-term and new strategic shareholders who participated in our recent capital raise, which provides the funding necessary to accelerate advancement of our two high-potential gold assets. Supported by the current gold market, we see tremendous opportunity for value creation, underpinned by a robust development project in
Updated PEA
A 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment ("2022 PEA") completed by Ausenco produced robust economics using a base case gold price of
Permitting Activities
Fuse's recent study included review of the EIS and its supporting datasets. The outcomes highlighted subsequent changes to environmental legislation regarding Duty to Consult obligations, as well as the need for additional environmental assessment to (1) address the change in project footprint (as recommended in the 2022 PEA relative to that approved in the 2008 EIS), and (2) verify the acceptability of existing environmental baseline data from previous studies. Fortune Bay intends to commission a gap analysis to define optimal regulatory and community engagement strategies, that are based on the updated project engineering and economics. To support these strategies, any additional environmental baseline studies and other technical Environmental Assessment work programs will be planned, with the longer lead-time studies to be initiated in summer 2025. Project development community consultation is also planned to commence in summer 2025, in accordance with the Company's social and environmental commitments (please refer to the section provided below "About Fortune Bay's Social and Environmental Commitments"). The Company has an existing Exploration Agreement with the
Poma Rosa (previously Ixhuatán)
Located in a highly favourable geological setting that parallels most of the giant porphyry systems worldwide, the 100% owned
- Resource expansion and development of the epithermal gold-silver Campamento deposit, which includes a historical gold resource of 1,041,000 ounces in the Measured and Indicated categories (17.6 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.84 g/t gold) and 703,000 ounces of gold in the Inferred category (21.8 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.01 g/t gold).
- Numerous additional epithermal gold-silver zones, including historical drill intersections of mineralization, that warrant further exploration.
- Untested copper-gold potential associated with the large porphyry system that spans the entire concession, both in outcrop and beneath thin cover rocks. Historical exploration focused on near-surface epithermal gold in the cover rocks. The presence of a large copper-gold mineralizing system is evident from historical soil sampling results, historical drilling results and historical mining immediately to the north of Poma Rosa at
Santa Fe .
Community Consultation
Fortune Bay has been actively engaging in community consultations and meetings for its
The ongoing visits to the project area have included positive and supportive meetings with community leaders and important social and political stakeholders in the area. Further meetings are planned with the key communities over the coming weeks with the aim of restarting exploration in late 2025.
Resource Review and Preparation for a Current Mineral Resource Estimate
The Company has engaged with Understood to carry out a desk-top data review of supporting datasets, historical mineral resources and growth potential for the Campamento deposit and
Technical Disclosure
The Goldfields 2022 PEA, effective date
A mineral resource estimate for the Campamento Deposit on the
A description of the historical mining at
Qualified Person
The technical and scientific information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by
About Fortune Bay
1 About Fortune Bay's Social and Environmental Commitments
About Ausenco
Ausenco is a global company redefining what's possible. The team is based out of 21 offices working across five continents to deliver services worldwide. Combining deep technical expertise with a 30-year track record, Ausenco delivers innovative, value-add consulting, studies, project delivery, asset operations and maintenance solutions to the minerals and metals and industrial sectors ( www.ausenco.com ).
On behalf of
"Dale Verran"
Chief Executive Officer
902-334-1919
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Words such as "expects", "aims", "anticipates", "targets", "goals", "projects", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates", "continues", "may", variations of such words, and similar expressions and references to future periods, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.
Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals, intentions or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to failure to identify targets or mineralization, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, inability to fulfill the duty to accommodate First Nations and other indigenous peoples, inability to reach access agreements with other Project communities, amendments to applicable mining laws, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing or partnerships needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR+. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. For more information on Fortune Bay, readers should refer to Fortune Bay's website at www.fortunebaycorp.com.
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